A documentary of what happens when regular people who love food and wine get together to share the pleasures of the table.

Sunday, October 30, 2011

Grilled Sweet Corn Ice Cream

Food Night is excited to bring you this timely* post at the height* of sweet corn season in the upper Midwest;

*False. Though it was timely a short while ago.

Do you have in ice cream maker? Well, if you have one of these…

… then, yes, you do. And if you do have a Kitchen Aid, and you are reading this, then you should own this and this. The pasta attachment and the ice cream attachment are two things Food Night really wouldn’t be the same without. Well, those two things and plenty of this…

Anyway, Food Night VERY passionately endorses making your own ice cream. In all seriousness, it is A). Easy, and B). Vastly superior to anything you can buy in a grocery store, and you can buy some pretty deece stuff these days.

So if you’ll allow Food Night to spend your money for you; buy the ice cream attachment, and then buy this book. It’s all you need. Well, that and this recipe for…

1). Grill corn on med-high direct heat, while still in the husks, until husks are blackened on all sides (seriously, blacken the hell out of them). Remove husks, some kernels should have slight to moderate char. Cut kernels off cobs, cut cobs in half and reserve.

2). Combine milk, cream, sugar, corn, cobs, and salt in a sauce pan. Bring to a boil. Add cinnamon and paprika if using. Remove cobs from the pan, puree corn/cream mixture with an immersion blender, retrun cobs to pan and steep for an hour.

3). After an hour, remove cobs, squeezing liquid from the cobs back into the pan. Set up a medium bowl in an ice bath. Wisk yolks together in a separate medium bowl. Rewarm corn/cream mixture, and temper the yolks by pouring the warm cream mixture into the yolks very slowly while constantly stirring.

4). Return mixture to the pan, and the stove, and cook slowly on med-lowish heat, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom of the pan, until the mixture reaches at least 170 degrees, or the custard coats the back of a spoon.

5). Pour mixture through a (medium mesh) strainer into the bowl in the ice bath, add bourbon, and stir to cool for a moment.

6). Strain. Strain. Strain. And once you’ve finished straining the mixture, strain it again. (Recommend; start with the medium mesh strainer, as the mixture isn’t pureed terribly finely by the immersion blender. Then do at least 1 preferably 2 passes through a fine mesh strainer. Straining is KEY to a smooth result).

7). Cover the mixture with plastic wrap pressed directly on the surface of the custard. Chill overnight. Then freeze in your ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions.